In order for the law to work, it needs funding. By passing this law, the District of Columbia has taken an important step forward, and $5.2 million would fund this program completely (for one year). The Council is now considering the FY20 Budget, and yesterday the Council Committee on Energy and Transportation moved towards Council approving enough money to get the program started, $1 million a year for four years, although it fell short of offering full funding.

Problems with lead in District water

In April 2019, the District Office of Inspector General confirmed that “lead may exist in customers’ drinking water because of the system’s infrastructure.” Many homes in DC still connect to water mains by way of service lines that are made of lead. The District’s water utility, DC Water, has been gradually replacing lead pipes, but it has been using partial lead service line replacement. This involves replacing only part of a lead pipe, leaving some lead pipe in place and typically fusing it to another type of metal.

The science could not be more definitive: there is no safe level of lead exposure, particularly for developing brains. The American Academy of Pediatrics and all credible sources agree on this. The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that “the consequences of brain injury from exposure to lead in early life are loss of intelligence, shortening of attention span and disruption of behaviour. Because the human brain has little capacity for repair, these effects are untreatable and irreversible. They cause diminution in brain function and reduction in achievement that last throughout life.”

District residents need to be able to rely on the Council to end this dangerous practice, make the District a leader in reducing lead exposure and protect everyone, especially vulnerable children, from lead contaminated drinking water flowing from our taps.

This blog provides general information, not legal advice. If you need legal help, please consult a lawyer in your state

The first few months of 2019 have brought disturbing news for Newark residents—more than 10 percent of Newark’s reported drinking water samples have exceeded 66.9 parts per billion (ppb) for lead, more than four times the 15 ppb federal action level.